Manually operable dispenser and applicator for masking tape



S. J. HETES Jan. 16, 1968 MANUALLY OPERABLE DISPENSER AND APPLICATOR FOR MASKING TAPE Filed March .24, 1965 INVENTOR. STEPHEN LT. HETES ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofifice 3,364,096 Patented Jan. 16, 1968 3,364,096 MANUALLY OPERABLE DISPENSER AND APPLICATOR FOR MASKING TAPE Stephen J. Hetes, 93 Klondike St., Stratford, Conn. 06497 Filed Mar. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 442,282 Claims. (Cl. 156577) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispenser and applicator for masking tape having a fixed hub and a spool freely rotatable on said hub upon the outer periphery of which the core of a tape roll may he slipped into non-rotatable relation for rotation with said spool about said fixed hub, bracket arm at one'side of said hub and a nut having screw-threaded connection with said hub for tightening and loosening movement to clamp and unclamp said bracket arm against said one side to said hub, said bracket arm supporting a rotatable guide and pressure roller outwardly spaced from said spool about which the tape removed from said roll may be guided and pressed against the surface to be covered by said tape, said nut being in the form of a handgrip knob whereby in the clamped position of said nut said knob may be gripped by the hand of the operator to firmly support said hub and guide said roller along said surface to be covered by said tape.

The present invention relates .to a manually operable dispenser and applicator for masking tape, and has for an object to provide a device of this character in which a conventional roll of masking tape is adapted to be mounted upon a rotatable spool, and wherein through the manual transport of the device along a surface to be masked a'guide and pressure roller guides and presses a strip of tape as it is unwound from the roll into adhered relation with such surface.

Masking tape is usually in the form of a strip of kraft paper provided upon one surface with pressure-sensitive adhesive, and is commercially available in roll form in varying widths, for example /2", and 1", the tape being wound upon a cylindrical tubular core usually of heavy cardboard having a standard inside diameter, for example 3". It is a further object of the invention to provide a tape dispenser and applicator device upon which a roll of any selected standard width may be mounted, and further to provide a guide and pressure roller adjustably mounted with respect to the spool carrier whereby the radial position of the roller with respect to the outside diameter of the tape roll may be readily adjusted,

to thus maintain its most efiicient operative relation therewith as the outside diameter of the tape roll decreases through unwinding of the tape.-

The device is primarily intended for the application of masking tape to a surface to be protected and which is disposed adjacent and usually at right angles to a surface to be painted, for .example, the adjacent surfaces of a ceiling and wall, a wall and a door or window frame, a glass window pane and a window frame or mullion strip,

a wall andv a base board, etc. In the masking and painting of such surfaces it is desirable that the masking tape be accurately applied to the surface to be masked in a straight line and with an edge in substantially abutting relation to the surface to be painted, and it is a further object of the invention to provide a device adapted to be manually guided along the surface to be painted with one edge of the tape in substantially abutting relation to such .surface.

A further object is to provide an axially adjustable to be engaged in guiding contact with the surface to be painted, and adapted through axial adjustment to have such guiding contact surface accurately aligned with an edge of the tape. A further object is to provide an axially adjustable guide and pressure roller which through axial adjustment may be brought into cooperating relation with tape rolls of varying widths, whereby in each case the guide and contact end of the roller may be brought into aligned relation with an edge of the tape and the roller will provide support for the full width of the tape.

Another object is to provide a device having knob 01' handle means in the form of a threaded nut for rigidly fixing the adjusted position of a roller supporting bracket arm with respect to the spool carrier, and which provides a convenient knob or handle at the outer side remote from the tape roll whereby the device may be firmly gripped in one hand of the operator in such relation that the thumb will be conveniently engaged with the roller supporting bracket arm to apply pressure to the roller to insure firm contact and adhesion of the tape with the surface being masked.

Another object is to provide a device capable of convenient operation either by the right hand or the left hand of the operator, and wherein through reversibility of the tape roll on the spool the tape may be dispensed in either direction of lineal movement of the device.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein a satisfactory embodiment of the invention is shown. However, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details disclosed but includes all such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings: 7

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a tape dispenser and applicator device according to the invention, the full lines showing the position of the tape when the device is to be operated by movement to the left, and the dot-anddash lines showing the position of the tape with the tape roll reversed upon the spool when the device is to be operated by movement to the right;

narrow tape, for example /z";

guide and pressure roller having an end surface adapted FIG. 3 a side elevation and showing the guide and pressure roller in its adjusted position to accommodatea medium width tape roll, for example FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the guide and pressure roller in its adjusted position to accommodate a relatively wide tape, for example 1''; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the manual operation of the device in applying masking tape to the vertical edge of a window frame.

Referring to the drawings, the tape dispenser and applicator device according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated therein comprises a spool carrier or hub member 10 of generally cylindrical form provided with a forward wall 11 having a centrally disposed forwardly extending tubular stud 12. An annular rirn flange 13 is provided at the forward edge of the outer cylindrical surface of the hub member for positioning an annular spool member 14 upon which the tape roll T is adapted to be mounted, as will presently more fully appear. The spool member is adapted to be freely rotatable about the hub member'and, inasmuch as the main parts of the device including the hub and spool members are preferably formed 1 of light-weight aluminum, the spool member is provided internally with a bearing ring 15, preferably of brass. border to retain the spool member in rotatable engagement with the hub member the spool member is provided with a radially disposed threaded hole 16 engaged by a set screw 17 having a rounded pin end 18, which through screwing the screw inwardly engages an annular groove 19 in the outer surface of the hub member. With this arrangement the spool may be readily-assembled or disassembled by screwing the pin 18 into or out of engagement with the groove. In the engaged position as seen in FIG. 2 the outer end of the screw is inwardly of the outer surface of the spool so that it will not interfere with the mounting of a tape roll thereon.

Preferably at a diametrically opposite point of the spool from the set screw 17, there is provided a radially disposed threaded hole 20 in which there is engaged a set screw 21 which is adapted to be screwed outwardly to project its outer end beyond the outer surface of the spool for the purpose of retaining the tape roll thereon in the event that it is not firmly retained by frictional engagement. A standard size tape roll T comprises a tubular heavy cardboard core 22 having pressure-sensitive tape 23 wound thereon, the opening of the core being for example 3", and in this respect it is pointed out that while the spool is of a given diameter, for example 3", to fit the 3" opening of the core 22, manufacturing tolerances in the production of such tape rolls is such that there may be slight variations in the fit. Under these circumstances the set screw 21 will provide for firm retention of the tape roll. An annular rim flange 24 is provided at the forward edge of the spool against which the outer side of the tape roll abuts in the engaged position as seen in FIG. 2.

The width of the cylindrical surface of the spool is preferably slightly less than the width of the minimum size tape roll for which the device is adapted. As seen in FIG. 2 which shows for example a /2" wide tape roll, the rearward surface of the spool as well as the hub 10 are slightly inwardly offset from the inner surface of the spool so that in the use of the device in guiding it along the surface of a wall, a window pane, or the like, the inner surface of a wall, a window pane, or the like, the inner surface of the tape roll will be in contact with such surface but therearward surfaces of the spool and hub will be out of contact therewith, so that the possibility of scratching or marring the surface through contact of metal parts therewith is effectually eliminated.

A radially disposed bracket arm 25 having a longitudinal slot 26 is engaged for radial adjustment upon the stud 12 and isadapted to be rigidly fixed in clamped relation against the wall 11 of the hub member 10 by a nut. 27 screwed upon'the externally threaded portion 28 of the stud. The outer surface of the wall 11 is preferably provided with anrannular recess 29 in outwardly spaced relation to the hub. The nut 27 is in the form of a relatively large handle or knob which in addition to enabling the nut to be easily tightened or loosened provides a manipulating handle for the manual operation of the device, as will presently more fully appear.

The outer end portion of the bracket arm 25 is outwardly offset by a bend portion 30 and is provided with an outwardly projecting boss 31 having a cylindrical passage 32 therethrough having its axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the spool 14. Engaged for axial adjustment within this passage is the shank portion 33 of a roller supporting shaft 34 provided intermediate its endswith an annular=abutment shoulder 35. The shank 33' is adapted to be axially adjusted in the passage 32 and, in order to fix the position of adjustment and prevent relative tuming, is provided with a flat surface 36 engaged by a set screw 37 in the outer end of the bracket arm.

The guide and pressure roller 38 is preferably formed of a suitable non-metallic, non-abrasive material, for example, compressed fibre composition, nylon, leather, or the like, and has fitted within its bore a bearing bushing 39, for example of brass, flanged at one end and terminating at its other end in inwardly offset recessed relation to the end surface of the roller. The bearing bushing is rotatably engaged upon the shaft 34 with its flanged end abutting the shoulder 35 of the shaft and with its other end outwardly offset from the end surface of the shaft. The threaded stud 40 of a shouldered cap screw 41 is engaged in a threaded socket 42 provided in the end of the shaft 34, the shoulder portion of the screw being of corresponding diameter to the diameter of the shaft and its axial dimension being slightly greater than the outward offset of the bearing bushing from the end of the shaft, and the head portion being of slightly smaller diameter than the outside diameter of the bearing bushing and its axial dimension being slightly less than the inward offset of the bearing bushing from the end surface of the roller. with this arrangement .the roller is freely rotatable about the shaft and is free of any projecting metallic parts that may scratch or abrade the surface on gaged by the end of the roller. The roller is preferably provided with a series of annular grooves 43 for better guiding and pressure contact with the masking tape.

The roller is adapted to be adjusted to haveits end surface exactly aligned with the end surface of the tape roll, and additionally it is of a width, at least as great as the width of the maximum width tape roll to be accommodated, so that through axial adjustment it may have its end surface aligned with the end surface of any one of several tape rolls of various standard widths and in each case will provide roller support for the full width of the taperThus in FIG. 2 the roller is shown in its position of adjustment with respect to a minimum width tape roll,

for example /2, and in FIGS. 3 and 4 the roller is shown in its respective positions of adjustment for accommodating intermediate and maximum width tapes, for example and 1".

In the operation of the device, and depending upon the relationship of the surface to be masked to the adjacent surface to be painted, as Well as the lineal direction in which it is desired to apply the tape, the tape roll is placed upon the spool so that the tape carried about the roller with its adhesive side outwardly will unwind in the opposite direction from the direction of lineal movement of the device. An unwound end of the tape is first adhered to the end of the surface to be taped, for example the edge of the frame 44 as seen in FIG. 5, and thereupon, with the operators hand gripped about the handle or knob 27 and with the thumb pressed against the bracket arm 25, the device is drawn along the sur face 44 with the end surfaces of the roller and the tape roll in contact with the surface to be painted, for example the wall 45, so that the tape is applied with an edge is substantially abutting relation with the wall 45. The device is preferably held with the bracket arm at an angle that is best suited to the application of pressure to the roller. Periodically as the tape is unwound and the outside diameter of the tape roll decreases the bracket arm may be adjusted to bring the roller 38 into the desired relation to the tape roll.

What is claimed is:

1. A manually operable dispenser and applicator for masking tape of the type comprising a tubular cylindrical core and pressure-sensitive adhesive tape wound about said core, comprising a hub, a spool rotatably mounted on said hub and having an outer periphery for non-ro tatably receiving the core of a tape roll, handle means at one side of said hub comprising a nut in the form of a handgrip knob, a bracket arm interposed between said nut and said one side of said hub and extending outwardly beyond the periphery of said spool, screw connection means between said nut and said hub permitting inward tightening and outward loosening movement of 7 said nut toward and away from said one side of said hub and adapted upon tightening movement to rigidly clamp said bracket arm against said hub, and a guide and pressure roller rotatably carried upon said bracket arm in outwardly spaced opposed relation to the periphery of said spool.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said bracket arm has a longitudinal slot in which said screw connection means is received whereby said arm is longitudinally adjustable to adjust the spacing between said roller and said spool.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said screw connection means comprises an exteriorly threaded stud coaxial with the axis of rotation of said spool, and wherein said handle means includes a nut'portion for threaded engagement with said stud.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said bracket arm has a longitudinal slot in which said screw connection means is received whereby said arm is longitudinally adjustable to adjust the spacing between said roller and said spool, and wherein said screw connection means comprises an exteriorly threaded stud coaxial with the axis of rotation of said spool and received in said slot, and wherein said handle means includes a nut portion for threaded engagement with said stud.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said hub has a cylindrical outer surface and an annular groove in said surface, wherein said spool has a radially disposed threaded hole extending between its inner and outer peripheries, and wherein a set screw having a pin end portion is adjustably engaged in said threaded hole to engage said pin end with said groove to retain said spool upon said hub against axial movement and to disengage said pin end them said groove to permit removal of said spool from said hub.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said spool has a radially disposed threaded hole opening to its outer periphery, and wherein a threaded set screw is adjustably engaged in said threaded hole whereby through inward adjustment the outer end of said set screw is dis- 6 posed inwardly of the periphery of said spool and through outward adjustment is projected with respect to said periphery to provide a retaining means for the core of the tape roll.

7. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein said bracket arm has an outer end portion provided with hearing means having its axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said spool, wherein said roller is rotatably mounted on a shaft supported for axial adjustment by said bearing means, and wherein said roller includes an end surface adjacent said bracket arm and an end surface remote from said bracket arm, said remote end surface being adapted through axial adjustment of said shaft to be aligned with an edge of a tape roll engaged upon said spool.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7, wherein said remote end surface of said roller is outwardly offset relatively to the end of said shaft.

9. The invention as defined in claim 7, wherein said bearing means comprises a bearing portion having a passage in which a shank portion of said shaft is received.

10. The invention as defined in claim 7, wherein the axial width of the peripheral surface of said spool is less than the width of a minimum width tape roll adapted to be supported thereon whereby one edge of said tape roll projects relatively to said spool, and wherein said roller is of an axial width at least as great as the width of a maximum width tape roll adapted to be supported upon said spool.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1960 Schiefer 156-577 7/1964 Harbour 156-577 

